Lacrosse stick head

Abstract

A lacrosse head for use with a lacrosse handle includes a frame element including an arcuate wall, a scoop opposing the arcuate wall, and a pair of opposing sidewalls. The sidewalls generally extend between the arcuate wall and the scoop. The frame element has a socket extending rearwardly therefrom for receipt of a handle therein. The lacrosse head has a plurality of net attachment means formed therein for attachment of lacrosse net thereto. The lacrosse head has a pocket area defined by a lower portion of the arcuate wall, the scoop, and a lower portion of each of the pair of opposing sidewalls. The lacrosse head also has a catching area defined by an upper portion of the arcuate wall, the scoop, and an upper portion of each of the pair of opposing sidewalls. The catching area of the head is larger than the pocket area.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. A lacrosse head comprising: 
       a base;  
       a scoop;  
       a throat area extending rearwardly from said base for accommodating a lacrosse handle therein;  
       an axis defined by a centerline of said throat area that extends generally between said scoop and said base and does not intersect said sidewalls; and  
       a pair of spaced apart sidewalls, which diverge from said base toward said scoop and define a ball receiving area, wherein said sidewalls each have an upper portion and a lower portion with said sidewalls being progressively outwardly inclined substantially from said base towards said scoop whereby said upper portion is disposed further outwardly with respect to said axis than said lower portion.  
     
     
       2. The lacrosse head of  claim 1  wherein said sidewalls are uniformly progressively outwardly inclined. 
     
     
       3. The lacrosse head of  claim 1  wherein said upper portion defines a ball receiving area and said lower portion includes string retaining means and defines a ball possession area. 
     
     
       4. The lacrosse head of  claim 3  wherein said ball receiving area is progressively larger with respect to said ball retaining area from said base towards said scoop. 
     
     
       5. The lacrosse head of  claim 3  wherein the head includes a forward section and a rear section and wherein said ball possession area comprises a substantially uniform width throughout said rear section and said ball receiving area comprises a progressively increasing width from said base towards said scoop. 
     
     
       6. The lacrosse head of  claim 3  wherein said string retaining means are located in a recessed channel formed in said lower portion. 
     
     
       7. A lacrosse head for attachment to a lacrosse handle, comprising: 
       an open frame having a rearward arcuate wall, a pair of sidewalls that extend generally forwardly from said rearward arcuate wall, and a scoop that connects said pair of sidewalls opposite said rearward arcuate wall;  
       a throat projecting rearwardly from said open frame and having a socket for receipt of the lacrosse handle therein;  
       a plurality of net attachment structures associated with said open frame allowing a net to be secured to said open frame;  
       each of said pair of sidewalls having a lower rim and an upper rim, and wherein at at least one location along said open frame a first distance defined by the distance between said upper rims of said sidewalls is greater than a second distance defined by the distance between said lower rims of said sidewalls;  
       wherein said sidewalk define a rear portion and a forward portion and wherein said lower rims of said sidewalls are generally parellel to one another in said rear poriton.  
     
     
       8. The lacrosse head of  claim 7 , wherein each of said pair of sidewalls has an inner surface and an outer surface and at least a portion of said lower rim of each of said sidewalls is recessed outwardly with respect to said inner surface of said sidewalls. 
     
     
       9. The lacrosse head of  claim 7 , wherein at least one of said plurality of attachment structures is formed adjacent said recessed lower rim. 
     
     
       10. The lacrosse head of the  claim 7 , wherein said first distance is greater than said second distance along the entire length of each of said pair of sidewalls. 
     
     
       11. The lacrosse head of  claim 10 , wherein each of said sidewalls has an inner surface that is generally convex in shape from said lower rim to said upper rim. 
     
     
       12. The lacrosse head of  claim 10 , wherein each of said sidewalls has an inner surface that is generally inclined from said lower rim to said upper rim. 
     
     
       13. The lacrosse head of  claim 10 , further comprising: 
       a stiffening rib formed on an inner surface of each of said pair of sidewalls.  
     
     
       14. The lacrosse head of  claim 7 , wherein said first distance progressively increase from said rearward arcuate wall to said scoop. 
     
     
       15. The lacrosse head of  claim 7 , wherein each of said sidewalls has a bend formed therein which divides the head into a forward portion and a rearward portion, wherein the difference between said first distance and said second distance in said rearward portion is less than the difference between said first distance and said second distance in said forward portion. 
     
     
       16. The lacrosse head of  claim 7 , further comprising: 
       a finger notch formed in an underside of said throat for accommodating a user's finger.  
     
     
       17. A lacrosse head for attachment to a lacrosse handle, comprising: 
       a frame element having an arcuate wall, a scoop opposing said arcuate wall, and a pair of sidewalls that generally diverge from said arcuate wall and said scoop;  
       a socket extending rearwardly from said frame element for receipt of a handle therein to define a head/handle axis;  
       a pocket area defined by a lower portion of said arcuate wall and a lower portion of each of said pair of opposing sidewalls; and  
       a catching area defined by an upper portion of said arcuate wall, an upper portion of each of said pair of opposing sidewalls, and including any inwardly extending protrusions;  
       whereby said catching area is substantially larger than said pocket area to increase the ball retention characteristics of the head without decreasing the ability to catch the ball.  
     
     
       18. The lacrosse head of  claim 17 , wherein said lower portion of at least one sidewall has a recessed portion formed therein to assist in retaining a lacrosse ball in said pocket area. 
     
     
       19. The lacrosse head of  claim 18 , wherein said recessed portion has a plurality of net attachment means formed therein. 
     
     
       20. The lacrosse head of  claim 19 , wherein said recessed portion has a stepped back configuration. 
     
     
       21. The lacrosse head of  claim 19 , wherein said recessed portion is configured as an inclined surface. 
     
     
       22. The lacrosse head of  claim 19 , wherein said recessed portion has a curved configuration. 
     
     
       23. The lacrosse head of  claim 17 , wherein said sidewalls each have an upper rim that is lowered with respect to a plane defined by an upper surface of said socket. 
     
     
       24. The lacrosse head of  claim 17 , wherein said sidewalls each have an upper rim and a lower rim and wherein the distance between said upper rims is greater than the distance between said lower rims from said arcuate wall to said scoop. 
     
     
       25. The lacrosse head of  claim 24 , wherein said distance between said upper rims progressively increases with respect to said distance between said lower rims from said arcuate wall to said scoop. 
     
     
       26. The lacrosse head of  claim 17 , wherein said sidewalls are progressively outwardly inclined from said arcuate wall to said scoop. 
     
     
       27. The lacrosse head of  claim 17 , wherein said pocket area has a rear section and a forward section. 
     
     
       28. The lacrosse head of  claim 27 , wherein said rear section of said pocket area comprises a substantially uniform width between a lower rim of each of said sidewalls. 
     
     
       29. The lacrosse head of  claim 17 , wherein said socket has a finger notch formed on an underside thereof. 
     
     
       30. The lacrosse head of  claim 17 , further comprising: 
       a stiffening ridge formed on an inner surface of each sidewall.  
     
     
       31. A lacrosse stick head for attachment to a lacrosse stick, comprising: 
       a frame element defining an open area for receiving a lacrosse ball including:  
       a rear arcuate wall;  
       a scoop located opposite said rear arcuate wall; and  
       a pair of opposing sidewalls that generally diverge from said rear arcuate wall to said scoop, said pair of opposing sidewalls each having an inner surface with an upper section and a lower section, said pair of sidewalls each being broadly divisible into a rear portion and a forward portion;  
       wherein at least a portion of each of said lower sections in said rear portion are disposed further inwardly than a corresponding portion of said upper sections.  
     
     
       32. The lacrosse stick head of  claim 31  wherein said pair of opposing sidewalls are progressively outwardly inclined from said rear arcuate wall to said scoop. 
     
     
       33. The lacrosse stick head of  claim 31  wherein said pair of opposing sidewalls are leaning outwardly from said lower section to said upper section. 
     
     
       34. The lacrosse stick head of  claim 31  wherein lower section includes an integrally formed recessed channel. 
     
     
       35. The lacrosse stick head of  claim 34  wherein said integrally formed recessed channel has an attachment mechanism for attaching a netting to the frame element formed therein. 
     
     
       36. The lacrosse stick head of  claim 31  wherein at least a portion of said lower section in said forward portion has an outward radius of curvature that is greater than an outward radius of curvature of said upper section in said forward portion. 
     
     
       37. The lacrosse stick of  claim 34 , wherein said recessed channel is stepped back from said inner surfaces of said sidewalls. 
     
     
       38. The lacrosse stick head of  claim 31  wherein said rear section comprises an open area between said opposing sidewalls having a width, said width starting at said rear arcuate wall and being slightly larger than the width of a lacrosse ball, said width increasing in size at a distance from said rear arcuate wall which is significantly greater than the width of a lacrosse ball. 
     
     
       39. The lacrosse stick head of  claim 38  wherein said width between said upper portion of said sidewalls progressively increases from said base to said scoop. 
     
     
       40. The lacrosse head of  claim 31 , further comprising: 
       a stiffening ridge formed on said inner surface of each of said pair of opposing sidewalls.  
     
     
       41. The lacrosse head of  claim 40 , wherein said stiffening ridge is formed in said lower section. 
     
     
       42. The lacrosse head comprising: 
       a base;  
       a scoop;  
       a throat area extending rearwardly from said base for accommodating a lacrosse handle therein;  
       a pair of spaced apart sidewalls extending between said scoop and said base defining a ball receiving area, at least one of said pair of sidewalls having a recessed channel formed in a lower portion of an inner side thereof to assist in retaining a lacrosse ball therein.  
     
     
       43. The lacrosse head of  claim 42 , wherein said sidewalls are progressively outwardly inclined from said base towards said scoop. 
     
     
       44. A lacrosse head for attachment to a lacrosse handle comprising: 
       a base;  
       a scoop;  
       a throat area extending rearwardly from said base for accommodating the lacrosse handle therein, and  
       a pair of spaced apart sidewalls extending between said scoop and said base, said sidewalls having an upper portion and a lower portion, said upper portion defining a ball receiving area and said lower portion defining a ball possession area;  
       wherein the head includes a forward portion and a rear portion and wherein said ball possession area has a substantially uniform width throughout said rear section and said ball receiving area comprises a progresssively increasing width from said base towards said scoop.  
     
     
       45. The lacrosse head of  claim 44 , wherein said substantially uniform width throughout said rear section is slightly larger than a lacrosse ball. 
     
     
       46. The lacrosse head of  claim 44 , wherein said sidewalls are uniformly progressively outwardly inclined from said base to said scoop. 
     
     
       47. The lacrosse head of  claim 44 , wherein said sidewalls include a recessed channel formed in said lower portion to assist in retaining a lacrosse ball therein. 
     
     
       48. A lacrosse head for attachment to a lacrosse stick, comprising: 
       a frame element defining an open area for receiving a lacrosse ball including:  
       a rear arcuate wall;  
       a scoop located opposite said rear arcuate wall;  
       a pair of opposing sidewalls extending from said rear arcuate wall to said scoop, said pair of sidewalk having an upper section and a lower section; and  
       wherein each of said sidewalk have an outward bend formed therein such that at least a portion of said lower section has a smaller radius of curvature than a corresponding portion of said upper section.  
     
     
       49. A lacrosse head comprising: 
       a base;  
       a scoop;  
       a throat area extending rearwardly from said base for accommodating a lacrosse handle therein;  
       a pair of spaced apart sidewalls that extend between a first end connected to said base and a second end connected to said scoop;  
       a handle axis defined by a centerline of a lacrosse stick intended to be attached to the head;  
       each of said sidewalls having a lower portion, which is disposed outwardly from said handle axis with respect to a middle portion of said sidewalls such that said middle portion can overlie and contact a lacrosse ball to assist in retaining it within the head and wherein each of said sidewall has an upper portion, which is disposed outwardly from said handle axis with respect to said middle portion of said sidewalls.  
     
     
       50. The lacrosse head of  claim 49 , wherein a plurality of stringing holes are formed in said lower portion. 
     
     
       51. The lacrosse bead of  claim 49 , wherein the head has a throat portion and a forward portion and wherein said lower portion of each of said sidewalls is disposed outwardly with respect to said middle portion throughout said throat portion. 
     
     
       52. The lacrosse head of  claim 49 , wherein said lower portion is sloped outwardly with respect to said middle portion. 
     
     
       53. The lacrosse head of  claim 49 , wherein said upper portion is curved outwardly with respect to said middle portion. 
     
     
       54. The lacrosse head of  claim 42 , wherein a plurality of string holes are formed in said recessed channel. 
     
     
       55. The lacrosse head of  claim 54 , wherein said recessed channel includes a surface that curves outwardly from said inner side of said sidewall. 
     
     
       56. The lacrosse head of  claim 54 , wherein said recessed channel includes a surface that slants outwardly from said inner side of said sidewall. 
     
     
       57. The lacrosse head of  claim 44 , wherein said sidewalls generally diverge from said base to said scoop.